By the way thoughts

     Time -  these seconds, those days, that century. Time - in the next moment, in the near future, and forever...  Time seems endless, way back in the past and in the future.  But, what is time?  Is it just the rotation and revolution of the earth?  Maybe yes, may be more....  Let's consider as an example, 2000 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026. Time is reborn as 365 days, for you and for me.   Offering us opportunities, opportunities to change... So is Time = Change Change = Improvements Improvements = Achievements Achievements = Happiness Happiness = More Happiness More Happiness = Bliss Isn't it?  There is no harm in contemplating this with me, this time. I hope with time ... we all find more happiness. #Happynewyear Always!

On many occasions, my thoughts wander and I end up feeling completely drained. This  happened over a lovely long weekend when my thoughts began drifting towards workload, pay scale, traffic jams, public transport, household expenses, and even the government's  Ladki Beheni Yojana . These thoughts made me feel disappointed. So, I smartly redirected them to school fees, vacation expenses, dining bills, and the never-ending shopping sprints. Well, this didn’t help either, in fact I started to feel helpless. Generally, at peak of my helplessness, frustration, exhaustion my higher-self intervenes (uninvited), guiding me through, with some easy tricks. This time, it nudged me to binge-watch a thriller web series. Now, here I am lying on my sofa, watching one episode after another, spending hours in front of the TV. Yet, I still have no control over my thoughts… off they go wandering again. Exploring a new path that led to life insurance, medical bills, and the ever-increasing cocon...

I came across Candy Kaku (aunty) during the wee hours on my way to the office in a Mumbai local. She might have been in her early 50s. A calm, focused lady, dressed in attire most suitable for a Government office.  So that day, as per the railway standards, locals were running behind schedule, which led to more overcrowding than usual.  As a result, only a few courageous, determined ladies could manage to get into the ladies' compartment of the local train. I was simply lucky to be one of them. Once in, most of us made great efforts to park ourselves, but Candy Kaku. The Great Candy Kaku was standing right next to me. While I was still struggling to find my place, she furiously fished out her Samsung Galaxy phone and began to play....Candy Crush!  I was amazed at the fact that she was at such ease in one of the most undesired situations. Me being me, I was curious, and I had to strike up a conversation with her. As we spoke Candy Kaku admitted that she was add...

11 July — World Population Day 11 July may not be a widely celebrated day, but its significance cannot be ignored. It is World Population Day. World population is, quite simply, the count of us humans. Humans who are busy surviving, growing, thriving, exploiting… and so on. Humans are always busy at something or the other, forgetting that we aren't the masters of this planet and we should act responsibly. We are in fact the parasites, enjoying the natural resources meant for every living being. The parasite (human) forms groups too make life more meaningful. These groups orient themselves to achieve a common goal. For instance, some groups are busy at war, some are engaged in the upliftment of the weak, some devote their lives to finding solutions to problems, and some are busy in mass production. Each one of us is a part of some or the other group. These groups keep us busy, for the entire life-time. While we are too busy achieving our goals, the world is constantly changing and a...

Have you ever had a job where you had no experience, no training, you weren’t allowed to quit and lives were at stake?  No? Welcome to Motherhood! We are too busy to realize that life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother. On Mother’s Day let’s find out what’s her tale…. within the walls of a home, facing new challenges, learning each day, gaining hands-on experience, and experimenting in new ways. Pacing fast or dead slow she relentlessly works at her new goals. Her deep desire is to perfect all three – her kids, herself, and her home. Her mind is always busy, her eyes vigilant, her heart full of emotions but she tries to strike a perfect balance.  She is the life changer every single day, it doesn’t matter whether she is perfect, because she is the best each day.  She doesn’t need experience nor training; she is a gift to the world and the reason for us being.

A couple of days ago, my mother began reminiscing about her own mother, bringing alive memories of the 1950s. Back then, the number of siblings was never less than two. In some cases, they would be in double digits. Visualize seven to eight children in a house? To me, the word that could best describe the scene is Chaos, or complete chaos! Imagine the youngest crying for food and the eldest pleading for uninterrupted sleep. A mother tending to an infant while thinking of the toddler, adolescent, and teenager. One crawling around, another in school, and the eldest preparing for higher studies. Different ages, different needs, different choices, all under one roof. Parenting in the early times seems mind-boggling to me.   The family kept growing – children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As is the case with my grandparents, they had eight children. By the time their youngest became a toddler, their eldest was already a parent. My grandmother, after raising her own ch...

 What’s underneath is responsible for the well-being of you and me, of every being on this planet. Home to more than 1/4 th of our planet’s biodiversity, just 3 inches of soil holds 13 quadrillion living organisms. There are more organisms in one gram of healthy soils than there are people on earth. Life beneath is the reason for life above. Soil micro-organisms are used to make almost all antibiotics that fight infections. We live, we heal, and we die and become one. Soil - home to all. Care for it now! If she can’t survive, we won’t. Keep soil alive, take action to protect soil. More info here #SoilBiodiversity #WorldSoilDay

  I sit by a quite stream on a nice evening; Steady breeze and birds chirping. I breathe the air, so light and fresh; My doubts and worries come to a rest. I see clear - sky's reflection; I feel the love and your affection. I close my eyes, I drop a tear; In you oh stream my pain disappears. I sit by a quiet stream on a nice evening; As the sun sets, I make a new beginning.                                                                     - I M Dalvi Image courtesy pixabay.com

The world has come to a state of nowhere, almost. Somebody, somewhere triggered the spread of the deadly virus which is growing and eliminating mankind. The catastrophe has highlighted the state of migrants in India and world-over. In India migrants travel 100s of kilometres on foot to find a job that fulfils their basic need – food. They move as per the season – tourist season, construction, monsoon…..and so on. They keep moving. Unfortunately in spite of regular interstate movement, they are hand to mouth. In this world of poor & plenty, they move from one destination to another. So, while they walk 200, 300 kms on a regular basis their food, shelter and rest is taken care at Dhabaas , definitely not for free. They earn their roti by working at the Dhaabas . No work, no income, so as the tradition goes they want to move to a new destination.  This time it is called ‘home’. To return home is their only wish during COVID-19. As we know during normalcy ...

Sam, Indu, Krissh and I met through a carpool app. We carpool to work. Our office hours & location is the same. We work in a different organization but in the same business park. It’s been almost two years since we are pooling. I have noticed, with every passing year Mumbai traffic is becoming bad to worse, and so is the work pressure. It competes with the increasing Mumbai traffic. To beat the traffic we leave before traffic wakes up. But evenings are….. I have to mention about monsoon. Monsoons bring relief from the rising temperature but at the same time, it terrorizes us. Flooding, road closure and kilometers of jams. Sometimes I feel I spend my precious time in the traffic . And rest of the time I think I live my life in Mumbai traffic . Luckily, KIS (Krish, Indu, and Sam) keeps me entertained and going. I find my work-life balance in Mumbai traffic. Image courtesy Pixabay I work till 6 pm so does KIS. My office environment is vibrant and demanding. Thanks...

On a lovely weekday evening, you have been driving for more than two hours in Mumbai city.  You have almost reached your destination, after a long tiring day at work. You are 800 meters away from your home. For some unknown reason, you start to think that the traffic is just not moving. You check google maps on your phone …. darrrrk red line for another 200 meters. You put the phone down, gently. This was the 8 th time you have checked google maps  in the last 10 minutes. To kill time you change the radio channel. You hear the radio jockey reporting in a single breath about the jams in Mumbai city. That’s when you get a call. “Hello, I’ll be there in 10 mins” that’s all you say without emotions. And suddenly, you hear a loud knock on the window, which intensifies every microsecond emphasising the emergency situation. There he is, selling peanuts…. Singhdana . Politely you shoo him, he immediately disappears. As he disappears you notice the rickshaw meter r...